


Something That You Just Don't Understand

by singing_to_empty_caves



Series: That's What Bein' A Friend Is About [4]
Category: Mother 1 | EarthBound Zero | EarthBound Beginnings
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, after school special vibes, if you can consider this angst, kids getting mad at each other, learning to be sensitive about others' struggles, ya know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:33:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21742270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/singing_to_empty_caves/pseuds/singing_to_empty_caves
Summary: Not everyone has the same strengths. Ninten and Lloyd end up butting heads before they realize that being different doesn't mean being better or worse.
Relationships: Lloyd & Ninten (Mother 1)
Series: That's What Bein' A Friend Is About [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1524248
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	Something That You Just Don't Understand

Lloyd tossed the boomerang as well as he could, hoping it would land where Ninten had directed: an apple sitting on a tree stump in the woods. 

Of course, it didn’t, and it fell to the ground to the right of the stump. Lloyd hadn’t hit the apple in ten tries.

“You gotta curve it!” Ninten called from where he stood, leaning against a tree.

“I’m no good at this!” Lloyd complained. “I’m not athletic, Ninten. I’m a scientist, this isn’t what I do!”

Ninten groaned and stepped out to grab the boomerang. “Well, I can’t promise I’ll be able to find ya bottle rockets all the time. Or that I can fight the Weird-ified on my own. It’s like they only got angrier after we met up.”

“That’s not my fault!”

“I know that!” Ninten adjusted his hat, scowling at the boomerang.

“Why are the Weird-ified coming after _you_ , anyways? Why not anyone else?”

“I dunno. Maybe it’s ‘cause of my powers? Maybe it’s got to do with Magicant. Either way, they’re not gonna stop anytime soon, so we gotta be ready for a fight everywhere we go.”

“Well, no matter what’s going on, I’m bad at throwing that boomerang, and I’m never gonna get better!”

Ninten dropped his arm, boomerang now at his side. “Ya know, Lloyd, I could never do what you do with all that science stuff. But you remember the eagles, right? I saw ya stand up to somethin’ when you were scared! Wouldn’t ya feel better if ya had a way to fight back?”

“I know, I know! That’s why we bought the thing, isn’t it?” Lloyd adjusted his glasses with an unnecessary amount of force. “Fine. Give it back, I’ll keep trying.”

“Take a deep breath.”

Lloyd paused. “What do you mean?”

“My mom says when you’re upset, ya gotta just take a deep breath and try to calm down. Ya won’t learn anything useful if you’re just angry.” Ninten put the boomerang away in his bag.

“Why would she tell you that? I can’t see what you would be angry about. You’re so good at everything...”

Ninten shrugged. “It’s like you said, I’m athletic. I’m not a whiz kid like you are, and I have trouble in school, ya know. I used to get real angry when I couldn’t read as well as the other kids. Always talkin’ about this cool book they were all readin’, and it took me an hour to get through the first chapter. I think my mom got sick of watchin’ me yellin’ and cryin’ over my homework--so she thought up some ways to help me, things I could do so I wouldn’t get so upset.”

Oh… Ninten was one of the _dumb_ kids. Funny--those were the ones that usually got mad at Lloyd. Maybe Ninten was so nice because his mother taught him how to get over being angry. Once that thought hit, Lloyd was struck with an idea.

“I’ll make you a deal, Ninten,” Lloyd offered. “You teach me how to use that boomerang, and I’ll help you with your schoolwork. Especially since we’re out here instead of at school. I’d hate for you to get behind just because the Weird-ified are after you.”

Ninten’s eyes lit up, but just a second later, he turned pink and looked away. “It’s all right, really.”

“No, I want to help you!”

“...I’ll feel _dumb_.”

“Why? I understand you’re behind in school--”

“I’m still in the fifth grade!” Ninten interrupted. His face turned completely red, and he refused to look at Lloyd.

Lloyd figured Ninten had to be older than him, then. “That’s okay. I’m only eleven, so I’m in the fifth grade, too. If you’d been in sixth, I wouldn’t know how to help you!”

Ninten looked back at Lloyd. “Really..? Boy, you’re smart for an eleven-year-old. I woulda thought you were my age!”

"Really?”

“Well, sure!” Ninten flashed a grin, seemingly distracted by boosting Lloyd. “I was kinda wonderin’ why you were at the elementary school.”

“...Thanks.” Lloyd smiled.

“So, ya really wouldn’t mind helpin’ me with school?”

The eager expression on Ninten’s face seemed different now. Lloyd had thought, when they met, that Ninten had it all figured out. Now he realized that Ninten was just good at hitting things. What if everything Ninten had told Lloyd before now wasn’t true? Kids like him--the ones who spoke like robots reading out loud, who got their homework back covered in red pen--liked to make things up so that people liked them more. Lloyd wanted to trust Ninten, but his new friend clearly wasn’t on the same level.

Still, he’d sworn an oath to his friend, and he would keep it… maybe with a little more thought, though.

“I don’t mind at all,” Lloyd said. “Do you want to keep practicing with the boomerang, or try some schoolwork?”

“Well, could ya tell me what the kids in your class are learnin’ right now? That way I know how much I’ve missed since I left.”

“Okay, then, let’s sit down for a little while.”

Lloyd carefully set himself down on a fallen log, while Ninten carelessly plopped himself onto the dirt.

“Where do we start?” Ninten asked eagerly.

“Hm… well, I know we’re working on multiplying decimals.”

“What’s a ‘dess-mole’?” Ninten asked, tilting his head slightly.

“Oh, that’s easy. A _decimal_ is a whole number with part of a number added on.”

This made Ninten’s eyes widen. “Whaddya mean, ‘part of a number’?!”

“Like a fraction, Ninten. When you have one-half, that’s part of a number.”

“But--” Ninten groaned. “It’s _one_ half! There’s one of ‘em! That’s not a part of a number, that’s just a number!”

“Well, actually, ‘half’ means you’re dividing the number in two--”

“Two’s a number, ain’t it? This doesn’t make sense!”

Lloyd paused. “Ninten, take a deep breath.”

True to his own direction, Ninten shut his eyes and took a deep breath in, then blew it out through his mouth. “All right. Sorry, Lloyd. I guess bein’ outta school for a few weeks can really mess with ya, huh?”

Lloyd nodded, worrying about how Ninten would do coming back to school after even more time away. “It makes sense. Maybe we should go back a little bit… how good are you with division?”

“Like dividing numbers up? Ya know, stuff like… six divided by three is two. Is that what you mean?”

“Yes! Good job. So--”

“Why’d ya say it like that?”

Lloyd paused, trying to read Ninten’s expression.

“Well?” Ninten prompted.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure ya do! You said it like a mom talkin’ to a baby.” Ninten laughed. “It’s like you think…”

Lloyd watched Ninten’s expression change. He went straight from humor to hurt.

“Lloyd, you think I’m _stupid_.”

“No I don’t!” Lloyd replied defensively.

“You do! I’m a whole year older than you, and you’re talkin’ to me like I’m five years old!”

“Well, it’s only because you’re not good at math!”

Ninten glared at Lloyd. “So you _do_ think I’m dumb, huh?!”

Lloyd panicked and tried to calm Ninten down again. “Take a deep--”

“You’re not my mom, Lloyd!”

Lloyd was going to say something, but stopped when he realized Ninten wasn’t acting angry like other kids did. In fact, it almost looked like he was crying.

“Ya know, for the way you talk, I’d’a thought you wouldn’t pick on other kids. I didn’t make fun a’ you for not bein’ able to throw that boomerang! Why’s me bein’ bad at school stuff any different?”

“It’s not!” Lloyd insisted. “I didn’t--”

“Do ya want me to treat _you_ like that?” Ninten took on a mocking tone. “Geez, Lloyd, plenty of kids can throw a boomerang! Why’s it so hard for you? You’re eleven years old!”

“Stop it, Ninten!”

“You’re just not tryin’ hard enough! Quit actin’ like it’s so hard!”

“ _Stop!_ ”

“Or maybe it _is_ hard, ‘cause you’re just _stupid_.”

No one had ever called Lloyd stupid before, and it felt like Ninten had punched him in the gut. Lloyd knew he wasn’t stupid, too--Ninten was just being mean, but it still felt awful.

“I am _not stupid!_ ”

“Well, ain’t that great, Lloyd! If only everyone in the world could be as smart as you are.”

Ninten pushed himself up off the ground with a loud sniffle. Lloyd could see that tears were starting to roll down his cheeks. He looked really upset.

Wait--no, why should Lloyd care? Ninten was being mean to him.

He watched Ninten storm away. A few seconds in, he called, “You can keep your stupid boomerang! I hope the Weird-ified eat you for dinner!”

Ninten didn’t say anything back to him.

* * *

Lloyd was sitting at a table in the diner, listening to the quiet pop music playing through the building and glaring at the plastic tabletop.

How could Ninten say those things?! They were supposed to be friends! It wasn’t like Lloyd had said anything bad to him--he just blew up out of nowhere! And Lloyd was trying to help him, too!

“Hey, kid.”

Lloyd didn’t look up, willing the waitress away. Maybe he had psychic powers, too--if Ninten was even telling the truth about having them himself.

“You okay?”

“I’m _fine_ ,” Lloyd growled.

“You don’t sound fine, kid. Bad day at school?”

“Sorta.”

The waitress came around to the other side of the table and pulled out a chair, then sat facing Lloyd. He looked up to see her smiling softly.

“I can lend an ear, if you want.”

Lloyd shrugged, still wearing a scowl.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” She pulled out her notepad. “It’s just you in here right now, so I’ll have Macy over there take your order to the kitchen.”

“I don’t have any money with me.” Ninten would’ve paid for it, if he were here.

“No worries. You look like you’re having a bad day, so we’ll let you off the hook just this once.” The waitress winked.

“All right… I guess I want a burger.”

“Anything special on it?”

“No.”

The waitress shrugged and stashed away the notepad again, then turned her head. “Macy! Just a burger, please.”

Lloyd watched Macy step into the kitchen, then looked back at his waitress. The two looked near-identical.

“My name’s Tracy.”

“Are you two sisters?” Lloyd asked.

“No, just friends.”

“Huh… I’m Lloyd.”

“Nice to meet you, Lloyd. So, what’s got you all down?”

Lloyd shrugged weakly. “My friend and I had a fight. He made fun of me…”

Tracy hummed. “That doesn’t sound too nice. What kind of stuff did he say?”

“That I was stupid for not knowing how to throw a boomerang.”

“Odd complaint.” Tracy leaned on the table. “So, he was mad at you for using a boomerang wrong? Was it his?”

“Well, he wasn’t exactly mad about the boomerang… he was mad because he thought I was treating him like a baby.”

“How so?”

“Well, he told me he was having trouble with school, so I offered to help him. But he was no good at math! I was trying to explain it to him, but he got upset because of the way I was talking to him. He thought that I thought he was dumb.”

“Do you think he’s dumb?” Tracy asked.

“Not in a mean way! He’s just not smart.”

Tracy nodded thoughtfully. “Lloyd, do you think you might’ve hurt his feelings, too?”

“What do you mean?”

“If he wasn’t doing so hot with schoolwork, he might’ve been embarrassed about it, right? And then you treated him differently because of it. You changed how you acted around him because you realized he’s not as smart as you.”

Lloyd felt guilty all of a sudden. Tracy was right. Ninten didn’t like that he wasn’t as smart as other kids, and he probably just wanted Lloyd to treat him like everyone else.

“You may not have called him names,” Tracy continued, “but you didn’t have to. He insulted you with words because you made fun of him with your actions.”

“I didn’t realize I was doing it…”

Tracy sighed. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt your friend’s feelings, but it still happened. The only thing to do now is apologize.”

“He ran away…” Lloyd looked down at the table. “I don’t even know where to find him.”

“Well, with any luck, he’ll show up around town.”

Macy approached the table with a burger on a plate. “Here’s your food, kid!”

“Thanks…”

As Macy left, Tracy smiled reassuringly. “You two are friends. Friends fight sometimes, but you’ll get past it.”

Lloyd nodded. “All right. Thanks, Tracy.”

“Anytime, kid. Give me a shout if you need anything else.”

Tracy left the table, and Lloyd stared at the burger, trying to figure out what he’d say when he saw Ninten again.

* * *

Lloyd hesitantly approached the store, hoping against all hope that Ninten was in there. He’d checked every other building in town, including the school--and he didn’t dare go into the woods without any way to defend himself.

When he stepped through the door, he saw Ninten on the phone. With the room being so open, he couldn’t help but hear half of the conversation.

“No, Mom… I know what you said. But I can’t do it, I wanna come home!” Ninten sniffled, clutching the phone in a tight grip. “...Whaddya mean, I can’t give up?! How’s a stupid little twelve-year-old kid gonna save the world?”

Lloyd had hurt Ninten more than he thought he did. He ducked his head and moved to stand by the wall.

“...You won’t let me come home?” Ninten repeated with a brief crack in his voice. “Mom, there are other kids-- _smarter_ kids--who could do this better than me. I just wanna stop. ...Yeah, I know! I know I don’t give up, but I’m givin’ up now, I’m done! This is all stupid! ...I’m not mad at you, I’m--aw, Mom, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shout at you--I didn’t-- ...Fine. Bye.”

Ninten hung up with his finger, then carefully returned the phone to its place and buried his face in his hands.

“That’s funny, most kids have to stay at home when they get grounded.”

Ninten looked up to see Lloyd, and his face soured. He stomped toward the door without looking Lloyd in the eye.

“You were right, you know. I’m _really_ stupid.”

Ninten stopped walking, but he didn’t turn around.

“Do you know why?” Lloyd continued. “I’m stupid because I let your ability to do math decide how I saw you. And I’m dumb as a sack of bricks, because I didn’t realize I was hurting your feelings.”

Ninten finally turned back around. His expression was nothing but sad now.

“No, you’re not dumb. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“Ninten, I was really mean to you, and I’m the one who should say I’m sorry. Even if you can’t spit out answers like a calculator, you know a whole lot of stuff. Like the boomerang thing! I’m the ‘smart kid’, and I’d have to spend hours making calculations to figure out the physics behind that thing. I’d try to use science to learn how to throw it--but you, you just know! You know how to make it work without planning a trajectory and a launch. And the PSI power thing--you have _psychic powers!_ Are you kidding me?! You’re so much more than a twelve-year-old kid. You’re the one who’s meant to stop the Weird-ified! Honestly, who cares whether you know what a decimal is? You can learn that later!”

As Lloyd spoke, Ninten’s face brightened up just a little. “Ya think so?”

“Of course! And… I don’t _really_ wish the Weird-ified would eat you for dinner.”

“Aw, thanks!” Ninten laughed. Then his smile faded a little. “I shouldn’t a’ called you stupid, or walked off like that. After all, I swore I wouldn’t abandon you, didn’t I?”

“It’s okay. I was just as bad. And I think we both feel awful about it, so…” Lloyd extended a hand. “Friends?”

Much to Lloyd’s relief, Ninten’s grin cracked wide open again. He grabbed Lloyd’s hand and shook it firmly. “Pals for sure.”

“Good. I don’t want you to have to fight those things on your own… if you’re still willing to teach me how to use that boomerang.”

“Only if I get a second chance at figurin’ out what ‘part of a number’ is.”

“Sounds good to me!”

“Then it’s a plan!” Ninten fished out some cash from his backpack. “Hey, why don’t ya pick up some notebooks? For my homework, and your… well, whatever it was you said about _calculations_ for the boomerang.”

Lloyd felt a smile grow on his face. “Sure, right away.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> I'm aware that this is a smaller fanbase, and that there's generally a singular interpretation of a lot of characters--that's why I chose to start writing these little anecdotes before I even got to Twoson in Earthbound. However, I did just finish that game up today, and I plan to start MOTHER 3 soon... that'll be, uh, fun... In any case, I'm learning more about this series every day!  
> Comments and constructive criticism welcome!


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